Spinal Cord Stimulator Cures Man's Paralysis

Doctors have successfully rehabilitated men suffering with paralysis in their legs, through the use of spinal cord stimulation. According to UCLA, it is the first time that paralyzed patients were able to regain voluntary movement in their legs without having to undergo invasive surgery.

For the study, electrodes placed on the surface of the skin were positioned at the base of the spinal cord and legs of healthy, uninjured men. After placing the electrodes, researchers tested if they could induce movement in the lower limbs of the healthy, uninjured men and were successful, reports UPI.

The successful results of the electrode placement in healthy men prompted the researchers to try the device on paralyzed men. Five paralyzed men were chosen for the experiment between the ages of 19 and 56, states the Examiner.

Each participant in the succeeding experiment had been paralyzed for at least two years. Four of the men had become paralyzed after sustaining an athletic injury, while one became paralyzed after an automobile accident.

Each of the men had to attend 45 minute sessions for 18 weeks with the researchers of the study. During the sessions, the researchers would attach the electrodes, which electrically stimulated the men's limbs.

The researchers analyzed the affect of the electrical stimulation on the ability of the men to move their limbs. 

In addition, several minutes of the sessions were dedicated to conditioning the limbs for movement by manually moving the men's legs in a step-like pattern.

The men were also given buspirone for four weeks, which is used to treat anxiety disorder, reports National Monitor.

According to the Examiner, at first the researchers were only able to incur involuntary movement in the paralyzed men if a strong enough stimulation was applied.

However, with constant electrical stimulation and physical training, the men eventually regained their ability to voluntarily move their legs without stimulation by the end of the study.

Reggie Edgerton, one of the lead researchers of the study, explained the phenomenon:

"It's as if we've reawakened some networks so that once the individuals learned how to use those networks, they become less dependent and even independent of the stimulation."

Prior to Edgerton's study, it was believed the the neural connections between the brain and spinal cord were severed during paralysis. 

Edgerton's study shows significant evidence that the neural connections are not severed but actually lay dormant and need stimulation in order to recover the ability to move.

Researchers of the study were prompted to take a non-invasive approach to their findings from research they conducted last year.

In the previous study, Edgerton and his colleagues were able to help men recover the ability to move their lower body after surgically implanting and activating an epidural electrical stimulator onto their spinal cords.